Monthly Archives: May 2012

The program provides an educational facility for young professionals in the Asia-Pacific Region and beyond to study and conduct research for the advancement of knowledge on environmental issues as they relate to the new sustainability paradigm. It focuses on the generation of new knowledge, development of leading-edge approaches, creative innovations and novel applications of knowledge. It provides advanced education to produce graduates and leaders with the knowledge and skills to understand the issues involved in environment and sustainable development, and to offer innovative solutions.

The program is flexible and at the same time in-depth to a large extent, tailored to the educational goals of the individual student and emphasizes creativity, problem-solving, field-based learning, systems-oriented approach to sustainability as well as interdisciplinary in curriculum design. These programs include:

• Master’s Program in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development

• Doctoral Program in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development

The deadline of admission for IESD programs is June 10th. The deadline of Chinese Government Scholarship has already past, but excellent applicants still can apply for Shanghai Government Scholarship until the end of May.

UNEP – Tonji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD)

IESD seeks to integrate the multidisciplinary methodologies of natural and social sciences, viewing the environment, economy and society in a holistic fashion. IESD actively participates in UNEP organized regional and global environmental projects; focuses on the generation of new knowledge, development of leading-edge approaches, promotion of creative innovations, and novel applications of knowledge; and provides a well-rounded education to produce graduates with the knowledge and skills to understand the issues involved in environment and sustainable development, and to offer innovative and practical solutions. IESD’s aim is to become an important base of research, education, and information exchange for sustainable development.

Background

The program provides students with the opportunity to broaden their academic and research experience. IESD offers courses on fundamentals of environmental science and technology, and courses on planning, management and development as well. The academic program is flexible to a large extent, tailored to the educational goals of the individual student and emphasizes problem-oriented learning, field-based learning, and systems approach to sustainability and interdisciplinary study. A research investigation producing a scholarly contribution to the particular area of study is necessary.

The program aims to educate students and prepare them for leadership roles at the local, national and regional levels on sustainable development. Students are expected to master various concepts and gain knowledge on economic progress, social systems, environmental protection and resource conservation issues. The three dimensions of human, environment and the economy form the basis of the program.

Climate change is widely recognised as one of the most serious challenges the world faces, with consequences that go far beyond its impact on the environment alone. It is no longer the question ‘if’ we have to move into a low-carbon energy future but ‘how’ we will get there.

Consuming more than 75 percent of the world’s energy, and producing around 80 percent of its greenhouse gases, the role of cities is an important nexus in the climate change debate. Their populations and infrastructure are immensely vulnerable to the damaging effects of increasing temperatures, sea level rise and extreme weather events. Additionally, cities are well positioned to anticipate climate change due to their enhanced understanding of local conditions and needs.

Supporting collaboration between cities

Driven by a common belief that city governments play an important role in reducing global carbon emissions, a group of large cities (known as the C40 Cities) have come together to create an effective forum to support collaboration and information sharing between cities and demonstrate leadership. This year, the C40 Cities collaborated with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) on a research to measure the climate impact of each participating city as well as their plans for action. An impressive 72 percent of the C40 Cities responded to the survey, representing over 1,200 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent, a figure roughly equivalent to the total emissions of a country like Japan or Germany. The survey shows that a number of cities have pioneered extraordinary approaches to GHG reduction and climate resilience.

Taking a leadership role

Nearly every responding city reports the involvement of their senior leadership in taking responsibility for climate change; many also make special note of their efforts to engage local citizens, businesses and other stakeholders in climate change-related decisions. For most, the need is urgent. More than 90 percent of disclosing cities identified themselves as ‘at risk’ due to climate change and over forty percent reported that they are already dealing with the effects of climate change in their regions.

The survey also showed that – while cities have made a strong start – there are still a number of areas where more support is needed. Indeed, challenges remain for many city governments looking to build on the low carbon movement. National governments, non-governmental organisations and the private sector can all work to help cities by:

Improving and standardizing GHG measurement methodologies.Cities are using many different methodologies to guide them in their GHG measurement activities. City governments will benefit from coordinated efforts to standardize these protocols to make measurement of emissions easier, more transparent, and more comparable between cities.

Enabling financial forecasting related to climate change investment.City governments, like many other entities, are struggling to put clear numbers on the investments needed to achieve their GHG reduction targets. Technical assistance and private sector input might help cities to improve their ROI on climate change projects.

Creating better tools for city-level risk assessment.City governments are leading the way in analyzing the risks from climate change in their regions. The international community can support these efforts by offering better tools, including specific risk assessment methodologies for urban areas.

Adding value through city emissions data validation. In the private sector, data validation and verification is becoming fundamental for establishing credibility with key stakeholders. An increasing number of cities indicate that all or part of their emissions data (city government operations and/or city-wide emissions) is verified to some degree.

Despite a complex array of challenges, it is encouraging to see that both C40 cities and non-C40 cities are (voluntarily) taking great strides towards shaping the global approach to climate change. Cities that measure and analyze their emissions will be in a better position to manage them and adapt to new circumstances. Each city can be a frontrunner in the combat against climate change in its own right.

Although it is encouraging to see that many cities have articulated a strategic vision around energy and climate and have developed GHG reduction emissions targets and innovative measures, it is only through a collective effort that climate change can be seriously contested. Source: INSIGHT Magazine by KPMG Global. INSIGHT is a semi-annual magazine that provides a broad scope of local, regional and global perspectives on many of the key issues facing today’s global infrastructure industry. Register through this link: https://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/Pages/Register.aspx

From the very beginning of the first Earth Summit in 1992, people realized that sustainable development could not be achieved by governments alone. It would require the active participation of all sectors of society and all types of people – consumers, workers, business persons, farmers, students, teachers, researchers, activists, indigenous communities, and other communities of interest. Agenda 21 formalized nine of these as the overarching categories through which all citizens could participate in the UN activities on achieving sustainable development. These are officially called “Major Groups”.

Objective & Themes

The objective of the Conference is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges

A special committee of the main Brazilian civil society networks was created in late 2010 to help organize Brazilian civil society and engage with national and international partners, including the Government of Brazil and the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) Secretariat. Members of the Committee represent a diverse set of actors from all sectors including, among others, environmentalists, rural and urban workers, women, youth, popular movements and trade unions. These actors work in rural and urban regions, at both the national and international levels, on issues related to human rights, development modeling, environmental justice and sustainability.

An important role of the Facilitating Committee is to ensure an efficient flow of information between Brazilian civil society and the rest of the world, as well as to be the national focal point for the Rio+20 major groups coordinator. For that purpose, we will support initiatives of the major groups organizing partners and the Rio+20 Secretariat as required throughout the preparatory process and during the conference itself. Organizations are invited to engage with the Committee to help organize national activities and support international ones.

The Facilitating Committee also intends to host training activities and debates to support the mobilization of civil society throughout the Rio+20 preparatory process. One CSFC initiative will be the People’s Summit for Sustainable Development, a broad space for debating, networking and showcasing national and international civil society initiatives related to the Rio+20 objectives and themes, and organized to coincide with the conference.

The Global Union for Sustainability (GUS)

Believing that the success of Rio+20 will depend on follow-up to the conference, in October 2010 Brazilian and other international organizations launched the Global Union for Sustainability as a mechanism to track progress toward the implementation of Rio+20 outcomes.

The GUS brings together active organizations and leaders from a wide range of sectors into a global multi-stakeholder forum. The goal is to enhance cooperation and exchange of ideas on how to promote sustainable development, evaluate progress and identify gaps or shortages early in the implementation phase. In the run-up to Rio+20, the GUS will promote a range of on-site meetings and online activities aiming to provide valuable inputs to the conference, and to begin setting up a lasting follow-up process.

The GUS also intends to collect positive experiences related to the Rio+20 themes and objectives, encourage cross-fertilization and coordination, and transform the process into an effective way to face sustainability challenges and accelerate implementation of feasible solutions.

The research project is to assess the social, economic and cultural aspects of urban trees in relation to climate change in Sydney. The aim of the work will be to identify what promotes or works against the further planting of trees in Sydney’s suburbs. This will provide a socio-economic perspective on the problem of increasing the urban trees in Sydney.

By 2036, Sydney’s population is expected to reach 6 million, an increase of 1.7 million since the 2006 ABS Census. This means Sydney will need to provide 770,000 more homes than in 2006. Much of this development will be suburban infill and redevelopment at higher density leading to potential losses of green space. The twin trends work against the well-documented positive impacts that green spaces and especially trees can have on the sustainability performance of suburban areas. Trees and green spaces can reduce the need for storm water provision, prevent floods and save on air conditioning, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and improve biodiversity. Since more than 80% of Australia’s population lives in urban areas which will be affected by climate change and peak oil, there is an urgent need to understand the barriers that exist to further planting of trees in suburban areas. While a great deal of research exists internationally on urban forests, little work has been undertaken that is appropriate to Australian conditions, which include soils with a uniquely low nitrogen content and the frequent drought conditions to which Australian flora is subjected.

The purpose of the Contribution is to award a Scholarship for a Master of Philosophy by research at the School of Social Sciences, UNSW under the principal supervision of Dr Krishna K. Shrestha.

Eligibility

Applicants may be either new or existing students

Applicants must be enrolling full-time in a Masters in Philosophy (by research) at the School of Social Sciences, UNSW

To qualify for the Scholarship as a stipend applicants must be Australian or NZ Citizens or Australian Permanent Residents

International candidates may be considered for a tution fee only (no stipend) scholarship

Candidates may not concurrently hold other Awards (eg) APA / IPRS

Candidates will hold either an Honours or a Masters by coursework qualification in social sciences, geography, urban planning, anthropology, environmental management, sustainable development or a closely related discipline.

Selection Criteria

Candidates will show high academic achievement in an Honours or Masters by coursework program in social sciences, geography, urban planning, anthropology, environmental management, sustainable development or related discipline.

Candidates are requested to submit:

Brief (3-5 pages) research proposal

An academic writing sample

A brief statement outlining how their output will contribute to their academic field and the broader community

Curriculum Vitae including 3 referees.

Conditions of Scholarship

The Scholarship has the following conditions:

The scholarship is payable as a fortnightly stipend, subject to satisfactory academic progress.

The scholarship does not provide for any additional allowances.

Domestic students: the scholarship may pay a stipend only.

International students: the scholarship may pay tuition fee only.

Extensions to the scholarship will not be granted.

No additional paid leave entitlements are available.

Scholarship may be be suspended for 1 or 2 semesters with approval of the awarding panel.

The Scholarship must be taken up in the semester for which it is awarded. Take up may not be deferred.

For the seventh consecutive year, Architects Without Frontiers and Aussie Action Abroad (formerly OzQuest) offer Architects, Architecture Students and all related construction & design professionals and students an opportunity to travel to Nepal, experience world heritage Nepali architecture, interact with and contribute to the local community through community development projects.

DETAILS

DATES
December 28, 2012 – January 24, 2013 (4 Weeks)

EXPEDITION PRICE
$3000

FLIGHTS
Flights are to be arranged by the participant.
Aussie Action Abroad will provide information
to assist in booking